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Alexei Ratmansky Will Leave ABT This Summer

Considered by many the greatest living ballet choreographer, Ratmansky will have been artist-in-residence at American Ballet Theater for more than 13 years when he steps down upon expiration of his contract next June. - AP

Routine Writing Is About To Be Free

Instead of writing boilerplate corporate memos, managers will soon assign them to bots. Insight and beauty are still rare, but serviceable prose isn’t. - Virginia Postrel

Technology Of The Year: AI That Can Create

These systems are master imitators of human creativity. They have been trained on millions upon millions of human artifacts such as documents, articles, drawings, paintings, movies, or whatever else can be stored in databases at scale. - Big Think

The End Of Broadcast TV

Not only does it seem like a fait accompli that broadcast TV is dead, no one seems to be the least bit sad about it — unless you’re a fan of, say, Days of Our Lives and Dancing With the Stars. - Deadline

How The Boston Symphony Lost Its CEO

Culture in Boston was encrusted in past practice and inflated self-esteem. The musicians did not take kindly to proposed changes or hard truths. Artistic director Anthony Fogg, a James Levine loyalist, stiffened their resistance. Music director Andris Nelsons was not open to her ideas. - Slipped Disc

Master Forger Turned Over To French Police

The dealer and collector Giuliano Ruffini, who is suspected to be the mastermind behind a major Old Master forgery scandal, has transferred to France following his arrest in Italy last month. - The Art Newspaper

Jenna Bush, Power Publisher

Since 2019, Ms. Hager, 41, has highlighted nearly 50 books as part of her “Read With Jenna” book club promoted on “Today.” Most became chart-toppers almost immediately, selling over a million print copies in total. Since fall 2021, Ms. Hager’s picks have outpaced the overall adult fiction market by almost 60 percent. - The New York Times

Is ACE Rethinking Funding For English National Opera? It Still Needs A London Home

Debate in the Lords focused on the term “grand opera”, which fans of lyric theatre believe was deliberately used by ACE to imply that the art form is overblown and irrelevant. - The Observer

Meet TikTok’s Favorite Classical Organist (Yes, TikTok Has A Favorite Organist)

"It's the best thing I've done in my career, in terms of bringing people to the instrument," says Anna Lapwood, who has 420,000 followers on the video app, including a few major classical music figures and even a rock star or two. - The New York Times

I Asked Chat GPT To Write My AP English Essay (And I Passed)

You can tell it to write a 500-word essay about “The Great Gatsby” or the Spanish Inquisition. So I did what any masochistic tech journalist would: I pulled a “Billy Madison” and went back to school. - The Wall Street Journal

The Literary World’s Top Ten News Stories Of 2022

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... All right, it was mostly still the worst of times."  LitHub looks back at the publishing giants' blocked mega-merger, the strike at the other publishing giant, a horrifying attempted murder, and everyone's favorite new word game. - Literary Hub

How “It’s A Wonderful Life” Became A Classic (By Accident)

 It wasn’t Frank Capra or Jimmy Stewart or the enduring power of cinema that made it a lasting success. It was neglect. “The damnedest thing I’ve ever seen,” Capra himself once said. - The Wall Street Journal

Amsterdam Is Now Looking To Drive Away The Vice Tourists

"The Red Light District has become a huge problem for residents, sex workers, and city officials alike, as it attracts some of the world's rowdiest, most annoyingly disrespectful crowds of tourists. So, in an attempt to tackle the issue, city officials are launching a new 'Stay Away' advertising campaign." - Mic

Important Lessons About How Theatres Work From The Victory Gardens Fiasco

The conflict seems to come down to addressing the gap between what boards can do legally and what they should do to build trust, transparency, and community, especially as theaters continue to proclaim their desire to create diverse artistic visions and attract new audiences. - Chicago Reader

San Francisco Ballet Uses AI-Generated Art To Promote Its “Nutcracker,” And Backlash Ensues

Said one of many Instagram commenters, "This AI art looks like CRAP, I can't believe you did this instead of hiring real artists." Another: "A despicable decision, especially for an arts org." Says a company spokesperson, "In the spirit of Bay Area ingenuity, we tried something new." - The San Francisco Standard

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